Newb Here looking for help

[Matt86]

Hey everyone. I'm a 17 yr old male thats 5'8 170 lbs looking to lose a little weight and then try and bulk up some. I however am having trouble with finding a diet and exercise plan that'll work for me. I also don't have access to a gym. All i have is a bar and 100 lbs in weights to work with. Could anyone give me any advice that might help me along? Thanks

[Citruscide]

Originally posted by Matt86
Hey everyone. I'm a 17 yr old male thats 5'8 170 lbs looking to lose a little weight and then try and bulk up some. I however am having trouble with finding a diet and exercise plan that'll work for me. I also don't have access to a gym. All i have is a bar and 100 lbs in weights to work with. Could anyone give me any advice that might help me along? Thanks

Wow. Not much there with the weights... but I'm sure we could work with something.

What is your workout history? How much can you squat, and can you get that 100lbs on the back of your shoulders?

First things first. Cut out all your junk food, soda and candy.
Second things second -- drink about a gallon of water day.

I'm guessing your Adjusted BMR is somewhere around 2800 calories. Now that is not knowing your bodyfat... I simply looked up your weight and guessed a lighter activity level -- and came up with 2800 calories...

To lose weight, you'll have to go below 2800 calories, say 2400-2500 per day. To add mass, you'll have to go above 2800, say 3200-3300 per day. You can't really do both at the same time.

I'd suggest cutting up a bit first, and then trying to add on.

When you eat, eat around 5-6x per day. Try to maintain a balance of 40/30/30 or 40/40/20 (Protein/Carbs/Fat) -- at least it is what I would do -- diet gurus would be better at this. 2-3 of your meals can be protein or MRP shakes, the other 3 should be meals with a good macronutrient (Protein/carb/fat) ratio discussed above.

As for your workouts -- hit legs and back 2x a week. Chest, arms and shoulders once.

Try this.

Day 1 Legs
Day 2 Back
Day 3 Chest/Tri
Day 4 Off
Day 5 Legs
Day 6 Back
Day 7 Shoulder/Bi

You might even want to make it an 8 day routine where you are giving yourself a day off in between your shoulder/bi and Legs.

You could also go for less volume like this...

Day 1 Legs
Day 2 Back
Day 3 Chest/Tri/Shoulder/Bi
Day 4 Off
Day 5 Off
Day 6 Repeat Cycle

This is a 3 on 2 off -- gives you a little more rest and time to recoup... it would be a good idea to switch to this after training the first way for 4 weeks.

As for specific workouts... man, a bar and 100lbs in weights.

You might try some plyometric exercises (get a medicine ball) -- and workout with a friend.

Also, you can do 100lb squats for reps (doing 15-20 of them)
Adding in exercises like good mornings, deadlifts (even at higher reps), and barbell rows -- can't hurt.

At age 17, and the goals you want, you should be able to achieve this by

1. Doing the compound movements -- even with the 100lbs.
2. Eating correctly, frequently and cutting out bad foods.
3. Proper H2o consumption, multi-vitamin and protein supplementation.
4. Cardiovascular (sprinting?) 3x a week -- at seperate time from workout, if at same time, post-workout.
5. Plyometrics are a great tool -- they help build up an explosiveness in your muscles -- which can really develop some size without having to worry about alot of weights.

Hope this helps -- you'll get alot more advice from others too!

C-ditty

[Matt86]

Thank you soooo much. I'm gonna start following some of those tips. Is it alright to drink diet sodas though?

[Citruscide]

Originally posted by Matt86
Thank you soooo much. I'm gonna start following some of those tips. Is it alright to drink diet sodas though?

Diet sodas also contain many chemicals that are harmful to the human body. The synthetic sweetner found in them can be (although the studies are inconclusive) damaging to the brain.

If you absolutely have to drink a diet soda, do it sparingly... and for every can you have, drink 2-3 glasses of water.

I'd recommend no. Unless you do it every once in a while.

C-ditty

[Spook]

Something else to do if you are up to it would be to take the barbell loaded with as much weight as you can handle, hold it across your shoulders like doing squats, but do walking lunges...it will seriously kick your butt and work the legs very well.

[Spook]

Oh, do you have any sporting good stores that have used or consigned weight equipment? If so, you can find some good stuff there that most of the time has been rarely used and at a great price. It isn't unrealistic to find a solid bench that will allow you to do decline, incline, and flat dumbbell presses, and will sit all the way up for back support to do shoulder presses, have a unit for lat pull downs, tricep work if you are creative, cable bicep work, and even home brewed "butt blaster" exercises for the glutes. Sorry, but at the gyms I have belonged to we have a machine called a butt blaster which is pretty good. You can sometimes find the type of bench I mentioned though for under $100 and it be in near mint condition...like the one I bought the other day. Now, to find a squat cage.

[T-Dawgg]

is there no gym in your area, just wondering?

[Matt86]

Originally posted by T-Dawgg
is there no gym in your area, just wondering?

There is but i'm flat broke :cry

I've been trying to find a job for like 6 months now

[T-Dawgg]

Originally posted by Matt86
There is but i'm flat broke :cry

I've been trying to find a job for like 6 months now

damn bro i feel for ya!

[Spook]

As time goes buy, plates are relatively inexpensive and you can buy them as you grow. Its nice to have a little more weight than what you need just in case, but another exercise you can do with a barbell is hacksquats (squatting while holding the barbell behind your legs).